WIREDGOV

A Nottinghamshire Police officer has been cleared of the non-fatal strangulation of a 16-year-old girl while she was detained in handcuffs inside a police vehicle.

Following a six-day trial at Lincoln Crown Court a jury found Police Constable (PC) Kevin Markowski, aged 46, not guilty of non-fatal, intentional strangulation of a child, an offence which is contrary to section 75A(1)(a) and (5) of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

It follows our investigation of the officer’s use of force during an incident at Arnold, Nottingham, on 24 August 2022.   

The officer had also denied assault by beating. This charge was withdrawn at the start of the trial.

The court was told that the girl was detained for a breach of the peace when she was involved in a verbal altercation in the street with some other young women. She was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police vehicle. 

Body worn video (BWV) presented to the court showed that PC Markowski, who was with another officer, appeared to have his hands on her neck or chest area on two occasions. The girl later complained she had been strangled. PC Markowski told our investigators that he had removed his hands after she said he was choking her. 

At the end of our four-month investigation, this was included in a file of evidence sent to the Crown Prosecution Service which decided to bring charges against the officer.

IOPC Regional Director David Ford yesterday said:

“Given the seriousness of the allegation, it was right for the evidence to be tested in a public court. We respect the jury’s decision and will now be liaising with the force on the next steps.”

During our investigation we analysed the available BWV and CCTV footage; interviewed the girl and the two officers involved; and obtained statements from several witnesses.